OMG! Could It Be True? Alfa Romeo is coming back to the US?

I just got the most recent issue of Auto Week (11/26/07) featuring the new cover model - Alfa Romeo 8C. I've been waiting years for Alfa to return. I've been teased to no end by reading about all of Alfa's models on sale across the pond. I'm almost afraid to get my hopes up about their pending return.

I'm 35 so my first exposure to Alfa was as a scrawny 10th grader in high school - a friend of a friend had a 1987 Alfa Graduate in Alabama of all places. Yes, an Italian car in Alabama. I was just as surprised -but there was a lot of old money in my hometown. Several years later - after high school, college, some good and bad experiences I bought my own Alfa Romeo Spider. I bought a 1992 Spider in 1997 - it barely had 20K miles on it. Some guy got hitched and had a baby on the way so the Spider wasn't practical. I was 20 something and needed a car after I moved from Chicago to Greensboro, NC. I was looking at Miata's and stumbled across the Alfa. Got it for a steal. Lucked out b/c the Chrysler dealer wasn't familiar with the brand. So for my first car that I bought on my 25th b'day it wasn't a bad find.

I've been hearing the rumors for years and waiting patiently for the Italian company to come back to US shores. But every time I hear a date it ends up getting pushed back. Teased with pictures of every generation of Alfa since they left the states in 1994. Then I suffered through the GM, Fiat debacle. I've also purchased 3 other cars since I owned the Spider. In 2002 I bought an Acura RSX Type S because I needed a backseat. Had both the Alfa and the Acura for awhile. But the Alfa took a backseat to the new car giddiness. B/c I wasn't driving it like it should have been driven I sold the Alfa. And I'm still missing it all these years later. In 2006 I bought the Lexus IS 250 - rear wheel drive and manual tranny - b/c I long for the handling of a rear wheel drive machine. The Lexus was cursed - hit several times by absent minded drivers and even wrecked by the dealer (other accidents weren't my fault and I have the police reports to prove it). So I bought a 2007 Civic SI Coupe. I love the SI but I can't wait for Alfa's return. I'm leasing the SI so maybe that will give Alfa Romeo/Fiat sufficient time to get things in order before their return.

More to come...

US National Whitewater Center

This place rocks! There's something for everyone - even if you're not the outdoors type. If you're not, sit and enjoy the good food & drink at the restaurant. There's the obvious rafting and kayaking. Or you can test your skills on one of the climbing walls. There's even a ropes and challenge course (I haven't done that yet but I plan on it). And there are also walking/running/biking trails. More to come on this. Check out the links on the right for the Whitewater Center.

Hey! Where did Thanksgiving go?

Turkey day came and went with little fanfare. I spent the holiday with a loved one - and we were invited to dinner with a coworker and his family. We had the best time. The food was awesome! Their kids were a riot! Their daughter brought out just about every Princess outfit she had. This was followed by a parade of teddy bears in various shapes and sizes.

Enough rambling and back to my ranting. It's been happening slowly over the last several years but so far 2007 barely even recognized the holiday. Sure, most of us will enjoy the 2 extra days off. But starting the day after Halloween (and before in some places), the decorations for Christmas were going up. I think I remember seeing and hearing more advertising for "Black Friday" than I actually did for Thanksgiving. With some local malls opening at 1am on Friday morning. Everything was about the day after Thanksgiving sales in preparation for Christmas. Not that I'm a Scrooge because I do enjoy Christmas. And I'm also a mass consumer - I can shop like the best of them. But come on! At least wait until Thanksgiving is over before shoving it down our throats.

Lazy Adventures of My Dog Rayo

Lazy Dog: Taking Laziness to a New Level
Imagine my surprise when I turn the corner in my condo to find my dog Rayo (pronounce rye-oh) cozied up next to his food bowl. He figured out how to have the best of both worlds - his bed and food bowl in the same place. By moving his bed down the wall he was able to get it right next to his food bowl. Before I took the photo he was just laying there in his bed with his head in the bowl - chewing, then resting, then chewing some more. I had to give him credit for his resourcefulness.

Rayo is actually pretty active so I was shocked to see him being so lazy. This happened over the summer and at that point we were running 2 miles every other morning. His day must be pretty exhausting. We wake up around 530 or 6 and run on alternating days. While I'm at work earning the money to keep him happy on his organic dog food he's chilling in my loft/condo. Maybe he's tired from watching the round of morning shows. Or maybe he's exhausted from the trash TV. Is he listening to satellite radio and dancing while I'm away? I know! It's the staring out the patio door and barking at people waiting at the bus stop.

2007 Civic SI Coupe

So I bought my SI Coupe in April 2007 after a bad experience with Lexus and Toyota. And by bad I don't mean anything negative about the company b/c they make great cars. My 2006 Lexus IS 250 was prone to being hit by other cars. 4 accidents caused by other drives - hit twice by people making illegal moves in traffic (one left turn from far right line and one right turn from far left lane); once in the parking lot at my own building; and once by the local Lexus dealership (car wash guy forgot it was a manual transmission and hit the car ahead of mine in line for the final wash). So I sold the IS 250 to buy an FJ Cruiser b/c of the dog I adopted (see Lazy Dog Post). Ordered the FJ and the dealer basically couldn't get the truck I wanted and I didn't find this out until after I'd finalized the sale and handed over the keys on the IS. So I was in a bind and needed wheels. Not that I didn't want the SI, but prior to the Lexus I owned an Acura RSX Type S, so the new car was very close performance-wise to the Acura. But I love the SI! Hands down it's a blast to drive! Way more fun than the IS 250 - that was luxury with sporty intent. The SI is sport over luxe. And since my car payment was half of what I was paying on the IS 250 my SI is loaded with satellite radio, navigation and upgraded 18in HFP wheels/tires.

A few quality issues with the SI - more rattles than on the Lexus or my previous Acura. But crank up the music (either satellite, flashcard, iPod, CD or radio) and you don't hear that stuff. Plus it's so much fun! Talk about a different state of mind when driving the SI. Makes me want to race the person next to me, just for fun. Even if I know the SI doesn't stand a chance - like the Porsche 911 from a month or so ago.

One recurring issue though is 3rd gear. Occasionally it will pop out of gear or make that horrible grinding noise when shifting into 3rd. And like Murphy's Law the problem never duplicates when I take it in to the dealer. So for the next service interval the SI will spend the night and following day with the dealer. Hopefully they can isolate the problem and take care of it. From my research online I've seen a few other SI owners with the same complaints - and my service tech even said he'd heard about it - but it doesn't happen in every car so Honda hasn't issued a bulletin yet. Anyone else out there having similar issues?

Going Green: It's about time!

Is the latest "Green" push permanent or is it just the latest "hip" thing to do? What's changed in the American psyche that's caused this shift towards saving the planet? Or has big business realized that there's money to be made? Is Al Gore behind all of this? My employer has also jumped on the green bandwagon by handing out light bulbs - 5 mini-spiral CFL's to every employee. Pretty impressive.

I went to college at the Univ of Michigan and had a lot of friends that attended the school's College of Natural Resources. Recycling, composting and other enviro-friendly actions were always big on campus (and this was 1990 to 1994). And in college we kids also realized that you could make money by collecting and returning recyclable bottles and cans in Michigan. Most of those bottles/cans previously contained beverages of the alcoholic variety - but hey we were doing our part to recycle, right?

Still I wonder what's behind the latest push. Yes I'm glad it's happening but I'm curious to know where it's all coming from. Like the latest in the auto world, Full-size Hybrid SUV's - that's funny to even say. But it uses less gas than a regular SUV, so that's good. But why do we need vehicles of that size anyway? Yet on the other side of that coin you have the sports/performance cars who get the same if not worse gas mileage numbers as the large SUV's. I'm a sports car junky so I'm guilty of that one. My little Civic SI Coupe uses premium fuel and I drive it like it's stolen every time I get behind the wheel.

I bought my 2nd Ionic Breeze from Sharper Image about a month ago. Even it has an ozoneguard on it. I removed it the other day to clean it and just from looking at it I really don't understand how the ozoneguard works. I know the Ionic Breeze itself works. I don't have as many allergy problems as I used to. And with an 80lb dog in my condo it doesn't smell like man's best friend either.

Every little bit helps. So I'm glad to see that we're all going green in one way or another. Do your part to keep things green.

2007 Charlotte International Auto Show

On my way to the auto show today. It's a nice show, but doesn't compare to Chicago or NYC. And the international part is funny. Typically it's US, Japan, Korea, Germany and Sweden and maybe one or two Italian brands. Not the greatest international representation, but maybe someday when Charlotte has grown a little more we will see more of the exotics and concepts. More to come.

That was a bust. Auto Show leaves today. Ran out of time.

Pro ProactivSolution

I started using Proactiv Solution probably 10 years ago. Long before Jessica, Britney, Puffy and Vanessa were promoting it. I was in my mid 20's then and started having pretty bad breakouts. I saw the infomercial and was skeptical at first. Just about everything you see nowadays makes some sort of outrageous claim. But within a month or so I noticed a big difference in my complexion. Friends and family members noticed as well. I even recommended some for my teenage sister and a younger cousin as well. Now 10 years later I'm still using the products. So this is the real deal. I like that they've changed the ordering method - you can now customize your own shipments. For me some of the products lasted longer than others so the standard package wasn't always the best choice. The customization allows me to select what works best for me and my needs.

After years of visits to dermatologists for expensive prescriptions and numerous attempts to clear the problem with OTC creams, I'd say that ProactivSolution is one of the best skin treatment systems out there. It's worth every penny of it!